The
United Nations Bibliographic and Information System (UNBIS) is a
database providing bibliographic and related information for documents
and publications issued by the United Nations and its agencies as well
as by external publishers.UNBIS contains descriptive metadata and
comprehensive subject analysis for documents, journals, books, CD-Rom
and audiovisual materials, as well as direct links to electronic text
of UN documents in the six official languages of the Organization
(Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish). UNBIS
information is available both online and in print.

With
the development of information technology and the possibilities of
keyword searching on text of documents, questions naturally arise as to
whether documents could be referenced by automatic methods that would
be faster and more cost-effective than traditional library cataloguing
and indexing. Can automation be extended beyond simple keyword
capabilities to incorporate the intellectual techniques required to
achieve bibliographic objectives that meet the needs of all users? Is a
system that attempts to fulfill the traditional bibliographic
objectives necessary, when many users may be satisfied with simple
keyword searches for documents?

While
some users may not need the power of a full-featured information system
that organizes information intellectually, other users may require the
features that presently can only be provided by intellectual means,
such as the use of a controlled vocabulary to bring together like
information and avoid scattering. Automatic keyword searches do not
satisfactorily address the difficulties of many users in finding
appropriate search terms, in expanding a search when too little is
retrieved and in limiting a search when too much is retrieved.

In
order to achieve the objectives of a full-featured bibliographic
information system, indexers and cataloguers require clear principles,
guidelines and rules for describing documents and other materials,
analyzing information and assigning metadata. For this purpose UNBIS
Guidelines for Subject Analysis were drafted in 1983, and an UNBIS
Reference Manual for Bibliographic Description was published in 1988 on
the basis of international cataloguing rules adapted to meet the
particular needs of UN documentation. Since 2003 seven UNBIS reference
manuals have been developed and posted on the UN Intranet/Internet:
bibliographic description, name authority, thesaurus and geographic
name, UN agenda, UN document series symbol, speech index and voting
records.

Objectives

The overall objectives of the policy for information analysis are to
create an indexed and searchable database of bibliographic and related
records; to provide access to these records through UNBISnet, online
catalogues, bibliographies and indexes in print or other formats such
as the United Nations Documents Index (UNDI), Index to Proceedings
(ITP) and Index to Speeches (ITS); and to provide selected metadata to
the Official Document System of the United Nations (ODS). Important
user-oriented objectives include the following:

Allow
the user to find information corresponding to his or her specified
search criteria, to locate materials and to access full texts of
documents

Allow
the user to distinguish between documents with similar characteristics
and to confirm that information described in a record corresponds to
the document sought

Allow the user to retrieve a set of documents by a given author, on a given subject, of a given type, etc.

Allow
the user to find related information and navigate through the database
by means of relationships between records, between subjects, authors,
etc.

In its
role as lead agency of the UNBIS network, Dag Hammarskjöld Library aims
to achieve the information objectives by the following measures:

Encouraging
all UN libraries to contribute shared indexing records for materials
produced locally, and ensuring coordination among participating
libraries

Providing guidelines and rules for analysis and description of UN documentation and other materials

Developing
a standardized indexing vocabulary (thesaurus, name authority records)
to control synonyms and homonyms and avoid scattering

Providing
support to indexers and cataloguers in order to ensure retrieval
effectiveness and accuracy of information (training and guidance to
staff; revising, correcting and updating records)

Performing regular diagnosis of the database to check completeness, validity and correctness of data elements in records

Monitoring
the actual usage of the database, including number of searches, number
of simultaneous users, number of attempts to obtain objects described
in the bibliographic record, etc.

Evaluating the user interface of the database with a view to enhancing its user-friendliness

Providing
automated access to full-text electronic files whenever available,
based on coded access and location information in the bibliographic
record

Compiling and producing printed and electronic bibliographies such as ITP, ITS and UNDI.